Internal-combustion engine.



APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 21, 1908,

Patented 'Nov. 24, 190;},

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Inventor:

' E. RATHBUN. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 21, 1908.

Patented Nov. 24, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q cylinders shall receive the same amount and To all whom it mayconcern:

EDWARD RATHBUN', or TOLEDO, OHIO.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24, 1908 Application filed. February 21, 1908. Serial No.417,117.

Be it known that I, EDWARD RATHBUN, a citizen. of the United States,residing at T0- ledo, in'the county. of Lucas and State'of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-CombustionEngines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the'same.

My invention relates to engines, and particularly to multi-cylinderexplosion engines of the vertical type, and comprises means for avoidingthe external pipes commonly provided for distributing the charge to thedifferent cylinders and for. collecting the exhaust gases from thedifferent j cylinders. These pipes, as usually arranged, cover the sidesof the engines to a considerable extent, often interfering with accessto the parts of the valve gear and making it difficult to makeadjustments, on the exhaust side of the engine, without danger of beingburned by contact withthe hot exhaust piping; and such piping alwaysgives the engine a, confused, complicated appearance and addsconsiderably' to cost of manufacture. Furthermore, it is frequently amatter of great difiiculty to so design such external piping that allcharacter of. charge, and shall all exhaust alike; and there is alwaysdanger of the ex ternal piping being bent, broken, deranged, or causedto leak.

To obviate these objections, \according to my invention I provide-asingle housing or base or crank-case for a plurality-of cylinders, theseveral cylinders being fitted thereto; and I provide insaid housing,base or crank-case a single supply passage for all the cylinders, and asingle exhaust passage for all the cylinders, said passages in the saidhousing having ports through which said passages are placed inconnection with corresponding branch passages formed in the walls of theseveral cylinders. In this way I avoid the numerous pipe-branchescommonly found on four-cycle explosion engines, avoid unequaldistribution. of the charges to difi'erent cylinders, make the valvegear readily accessible, greatly 'decrease cost of manufacture, andgreatly simplify the engine in appearance. A

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate an engine constructed inaccordance with my invention. The engine shown is provided with fourcylinders, butit will be apparent that this number may be greater orsmaller, as preferred.-

In said drawings: Figure 1 shows a side view of the engine-thoside shownbeing the supply side; Fig. 2 shows a similar. elevation of the exhaustside of. the engine; Fig. 3 shows a central verticsihs'ectron throughone of the cylinders and the housing; Fig. 4 shows a transverse sectionof one of the cylinders; and Fig. 5 shows a horizontal section throughthe housing on line X-X of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional detailviews.

In said drawings, 1 designates the housing (also commonly termed base orcrank-case, in the art; the term housing being hereafter used herein todesignate this part) and 2, 2 designate the several. c'ylinders. In theconstruction shown and preferred, these cylinders are separate from eachother and from the housing, but are carefully fitted thereto, at joints3. The engine is provided, as usual, with pistons, crank-shaft,connecting rods, valves and valve gear, etc.; but these parts it is notnecessary to discuss. Each cylinder is provided with a cored-out waterjacket 4, and the housing is provided with cored-out longitudinalwater-passages, 5 and 6, for supplying and carrying oft, respec tively,the cooling water, these passages 5 and 6 communicating with the jackets4. In the said housing is a cored-out supply passage, 7 extendinglengthwise on one side of the engine; and on the opposite side of thehousing there is a corresponding exhaust passage, 8. There beingbut onehousing for all the cylinders, the engine therefore requires but onesupply connection, at 9, (com municating with passage 7 In the walls ofeach cylinder are cored-out supply and exhaust passages, 11 and 12respectively, which communicate respectively with passages 7 and 8 inthe housing, through ports eral uniformly notwithstanding variation ofatmospheric temperature, and also of cooling the'exhaust, so preventingoverheating of the exhaust pipe. To still further cool the exhaust, Iprovide (see particularly Fig. 7) a duct 15 connectingwater passage 5and exhaust passage 8, and a valve 16 by which the iiow of water throughthis duct into the exhaust passage may be regulated.

Since the finishing of the meeting faces of the cylinders and housing isan operation that must be performed in any case When thecylinders areseparable from the housing, and since this operation is all that isrequired for making the joints between the cylinder fuel supply,exhaust, and Water passages, and the corresponding passages of thehousing, the forming of these passages for the cylinders in the walls ofthe cylinders themselves greatly decreases cost of manufacture; for theelaborate branched pipes for supply and exhaust, commonly re quired, andwhich require careful fitting to the cylinders, are no longer needed.Furthermore, since the connections of the sevcylinders to the supply andexhaust passages 7 and S are of the'same size and character, theperformance of the several cylinders is substantially identical. And asabove stated, and as appears from the drawings, the placing of thesepassages inside the walls of the housing and cylinders leaves the enginecylinders unobstructed by outside piping, making'the valve gear readilyaccessible, and giving the engine the uncomplicated appearancecharacteristic of many two-cycle engines.

Since the supply water passage 5 is alongside the exhaust passage 8, theinner surface of this portion of the housing is prevented from beingheated by the exhaust gases to such extent as to cause carbonization oflubricating oil splashed against thissurface.

The water passages 5 and 6v also tend to pre-' vent overheating of thedepending lower ends of the cylinders.

The water supply passage, 5, is connected to the. several jackets bymeans of pipes 13 extending up through the jackets to near the topsthereof. The jackets are connected to the passage 6 for carrying off thewater by similar pipes 14. The water being supplied to and takenfrom-the jackets near their tops, elficient circulation of the waterthrough the jackets is insured, and dead spaces 1n WlllClf clrcula-tion1s inactive are.

avoided. To regulate the flow to the difi'erent jackets (which issometimes desirable; for example, whenthe engine is set on an inclinc) Iprovide see Fig. 6) valve screws 17 of the cylinders, as indicated inFig. 2 and by removing the plugs 18 the valve screws may be adjusted asdesired.

What I claim is 1. An internal combustion engine including incombination a housing and a plurality of cylindersmounted side by sidethereon, said housing having formed in it a common supply passage forthe cylinders and a common exhaust passage for the cylinders, both saidpassages extending lengthwise of the housing, said cylinders each havinga supply passage and an exhaust passage formed. in its walls, connectedto the supply and exhaust passages ofthe housing, respectively, andextending substantially to the top of the cylinder.

2. An internal combustion engine including in combination a housing anda plurality of separate cylinders separable from and mounted side byside on said housing, the latter having formed in it a common supplypassage for the cylinders and a common exhaust passage for thecylinders, both said. passages extending lengthwise of the housing, saidcylinders each having asupply passage and an exhaust passage formed inits walls, extending substantially to the top of the cylinder, saidcylinder and housing having in their meeting faces ports connecting thesaid passages of the cylinder and housing.

3. An internal combustion engine including in combination a housing anda plurality of cylinders mounted thereon, said cylinders having waterjackets, the housing having formed in. it passages for the supply andcarrying oil of cooling water extending lengthwise of the housing pastsaid cylinders-the jackets communicating in parallel with said passages.I

4. An internal combustion engine including in combination a housing anda plurality of cylinders mounted thereon, said hous-.

ing having" formed in it passages for the supply and carrying off ofcooling water, said cylinders having ackets and pipes within theirexternal outlines extending supplying and carrying oll the coolingWater.

5, An internal combustion engine lnclud- .;ing in combination a housingand a plurality of cylinders mounted thereon, said housing having formedinit a common supply passage for the cylinders and a common exhaustpassage for the cylinders, said cylinders each having a jacket andsupply and exhaust assages substantially surrounded by the, 3' ac et,extending to substantially the top of the cylinder, and connected withthe corresponding passages in tlfe housing.

6. An internal combustion engine including in combination a' housing anda plurality of cylinders mounted thereon, said housing' having formed init a common fuel sup- .ply passage and a common exhaust passage for thecylinders, and having also formed in it a common water-supply passageand a common water-discharge passage, said passages all extendin'longitudinally of the I housing, said cylin ers each having a jacket andhaving supply and exhaust passages extending substantiallynto the top ofthe cylinder, substantiallysurrounded by the jacket, and connectedto thecorresponding fuel sup ply and exhaust passa and water-dischargepassages of the housin 7 An internal combustionrengine including acylinder, a housing forming a base therefor and having in it parallelexhaust and water passages,-andvalved.Ineans conmeeting said passages, I

8. An internal combustion engine includ ing a cylinder, and a crank casehousing forming a base for said cylinder and having initswalls exhaustand water passages, the latter between the exhaust passage and the es inthe housing, the' said jackets connectec to the water-supply ing a crankcase'housing and a jacketed cylinder for which said housing forms. abase, one end face of said cylinder seated on said base, said cylinderand base separable from each other but having their meeting facesproximated to form a joint, said housing having fuel supply and exhaustpassages and water passages, said cylinder having correspondingpassages, the passages of the cylinder and houslng being in commumcationthrough ports in the meeting faces.

Intestimony whereof I afiix my signature,

in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD RATHBUN.

Witnesses:

H. M. MARBLE, FRANK E, RAFFMAN.

